


Somewhere Only We Know

by jodem



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-31 11:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10898595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jodem/pseuds/jodem
Summary: I was a stone, weighing us downYou were the angel I chained to the groundA series of drabbles and one-shots exploring the relationship of everyone's favorite robot ninja and Swiss doctor.





	1. a prologue of sorts

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think, please! I'm also sorry about any medical inaccuracies or anything like that... I'm focusing more on their relationship and not doing much research, but please correct me if anything seems obviously wrong. Also--yes I realize the summary is from a different song. I WAS JUST INSPIRED BY A LOT OKAY

The doctor hadn’t really been sure what to expect when her dropship arrived in Hanamura. It wasn’t often she accompanied Gabriel on a mission for Blackwatch. Angela had been briefly coached on stealth techniques, as this was supposed to be a quiet, in-and-out mission.

Before they landed, Gabriel turned to her and Jesse McCree, whom she was sitting next to and chatting quietly with. “McCree, stay with Dr. Ziegler. She’s your priority, protect her at all costs.” He paused. “I’ll be on comms in the ship, but I want radio silence unless it’s an emergency or we find Genji Shimada. Understood?”

They both nodded.

“This is not a life or death mission. If you get spotted and overwhelmed, I’ll come pick you up and it’ll be a mission failure. He’s useless to us if anyone knows we’ve saved him. So don’t let anyone see you.”

 _Maybe not life or death for you_ , Angela thought. She’d seen the vids of everything that had happened in Hanamura only thirty minutes previously; the fight between the Shimada brothers was huge news all over Tokyo, and based on how the fight had been going she could only think how lucky Genji Shimada was that the three of them had already been stationed in Japan.

It wasn’t her first mission, but she still didn’t like the idea of carrying a gun; she would use it if she had to save herself. Fortunately for her, most humans would hesitate before shooting at a combat medic, and that’s exactly what they were going up against.

It didn’t take long to find Genji. The hard part was getting to him.

She caught a glimpse of his body through a crowd of people and felt her heart nearly stop. Jesse yanked on her arm so she’d crouch behind the wall with him. A man was walking by, a man she recognized as Hanzo Shimada from the vids she’d been watching before she was called to action. He was followed by a dozen members of the Shimada clan and carried a bloodied katana with him. Hanzo stopped walking right in front of where she and Jesse hid.

Angela watched as Jesse gripped Peacekeeper a little more tightly, preparing for action—but Hanzo hadn’t noticed them. He’d only paused to hand his katana to one of his followers and said something to the man in Japanese before he continued walking.

Jesse continued to watch the men leave. Angela nudged him, as Genji had been left alone and she had to get to him as soon as possible. He nodded, and she flew over to Genji with her new Valkyrie suit as Jesse walked behind her slowly, watching for anyone that may be coming back.

Her focus was immediately on the man in front of her—he was unconscious but still clung to life. “I’m going to help you, Genji. You’re going to be alright.”

Jesse had apparently called Gabriel, because the drop ship had returned and Genji was gently loaded on by the medical staff that had been waiting on the ship, her careful instruction as their guide.

They worked hard to keep him alive as they flew to the small Overwatch base in Tokyo and rushed him inside. Here, Angela could really work.

After what must have been a few hours at least, she declared him stable. The staff she’d brought with her were going to take shifts watching over him as she did not feel comfortable leaving him alone just yet—there were still a number of things that could go wrong, and he still only barely clung to life.

Jesse met her in the cafeteria and motioned for her to sit down as he got her something to eat. He sat a tray down in front of her (scrambled eggs, miso soup, and water—it must be breakfast) and then sat down beside her. Angela was more than grateful for him.

“How’s he doin’, doc?”

“He’s stable for now. We have a lot more work to do.”

“You were in there for 12 hours.”

The doctor blinked. “Was it really that long? He was, and is, in pretty bad shape.”

“He’s lucky you were there,” Jesse said.

“He’s lucky Overwatch wants him,” Angela corrected. “I wouldn’t be allowed to help him otherwise.”

“Dr. Ziegler,” she heard in the distance.

She turned to see Jack Morrison walking over to her. “Jack—I mean, Commander Morrison. I thought you were in Gibraltar?”

“I was—I just arrived an hour ago. I need a briefing—will he survive?”

Angela hesitated. “Yes, but we’ll need to implement those enhancements.”

“So he has to agree to join us first.”

She frowned. “If that’s the only way you’ll allow me to save a life, then I suppose so,” she said coldly. “But he won’t survive long without our help.”

“Then let’s hope he does agree—for his sake.”


	2. like the angel you are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it! :D I'm not sure how fast the next update will happen since I wrote both chapters in one sitting, but we'll see! 
> 
> Chapter title: Like the Angel - Rise Against

Of course Genji Shimada had agreed; what other choice did he have? She knew _she_ didn’t have one, even if she disagreed with using her knowledge in any way that would end up hurting others. There was no way she could have taken one look at this poor man, laid up in a hospital bed and missing half of his body, and refused to help him.

After a few strenuous weeks of healing, she gave him a regular physical for a soldier; something she had done hundreds of times in her life. He performed perfectly, though stumbled when it came to reflexes—his body moved much faster than he was used to. But that was a good thing, because it meant his enhancements worked.

“It seems like you have normal body function with the mechanical parts. You’ll need training to get used to the advanced functionalities, but—“

“Am I still human?”

His eyes met hers for the first time since he’d been brought into the facility. Angela raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw a flash of concern on his face before it quickly fell back into a blank stare.

“Nothing could ever take that away from you,” she said softly, resting her hand gently on his still flesh-and-bone arm. Genji’s eyes followed her hand to his shoulder. She brushed her hand across his collar bone and let it rest on his chest. “The heart of a man still beats inside you.”

After a brief pause, Genji glanced at her and said, “Thank you, Dr. Ziegler,” before exiting the room and leaving her absolutely speechless.

Genji decided that sticking close to Dr. Ziegler was his best option. She was the one that had saved his life and even if he hated what he’d become, he knew she had worked tirelessly to save his life—and that was a debt he could never repay. Her face was the first thing he saw when he woke up, and she’d had a small smile of relief on her face—something his drug-addled mind had found beautiful.

He hadn’t thought much about what led to his brother attempting to murder him, but as he stared in silence at Angela Ziegler staring deep in thought at her food, he thought about what he would have done if this had only been a year prior.

He would’ve complimented her eyes first, and continue to flatter her until she was flustered. Genji felt himself forming a plan of action in his head, but stopped himself quickly.

_Nobody wants to be with you anymore—not with this body._

A frown made its way to his face and Angela looked up at him. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Yes, I am fine.”

His focus had to be on destroying the Shimada clan—that was the deal he’d made with Morrison and Reyes. Blackwatch could use him and his intense knowledge of the Shimada clan to bring it to an end and stop their criminal activity. That wasn’t why he agreed, though. It wasn’t for his life, either.

Genji needed revenge.

His clan had betrayed him—his own brother. That was unforgiveable. What was even more unforgiveable was the fact that because of them, he was turned into… whatever he was. A machine?

The doctor frowned back at him, but apparently decided to change the subject anyway. “Are you going down to the beach with everyone tomorrow?”

Genji quickly focused back on his food. “I would rather train here, where people know what to expect when they see me.”

“You are not the first of your kind, Genji. You can still live a normal life if you allow yourself to.”

“I would rather focus on what I was recruited to do.”

Angela’s face was full of sympathy—something he would normally want to snap at someone for. But he could never bring himself to get mad at her. “I’m staying too,” she said. “I could use a day to catch up with paperwork.”

Part of him wondered if she was staying back for him—but she was a busy woman, and he doubted she cared about him that much. “You should take a break sometime, doctor.”

“As should you. And as I’ve said before, you can call me Angela—doctor is so formal.”

Genji paused in confusion. “Is it not polite to refer to you as a doctor?” Maybe his English was not as good as he once thought it was.

“Are we not friends?”

A sense of relief washed over him. The only person he’d ever considered a friend was Hanzo—and that hadn’t ended well for him. “Of course we are… Angela.”

She smiled the same smile he remembered from when he woke up in that hospital bed. “Why don’t we take a break together tomorrow, then? We can stay back here if you’d like—to be honest, the reason I don’t want to go is because I get sunburned so easily.”

Genji hoped she was telling the truth, because he could only get hurt by his friends so many times before he _actually_ died.


	3. if you love me, let me go

All Genji wanted to do was actually fight someone.

Angela refused to give him the go-ahead; she always had some excuse as to why his body wasn’t performing well enough and needed some maintenance. His patience was growing thin, as all he really wanted to do was put his skills to the test—he wanted to be _out there_ , doing his job and taking down the Shimada clan.

It was the fourth time since his recovery that after a physical, she said, “Hmm, I think your heat modules need to be re-calibrated,” when Genji finally felt himself get angry at the doctor for the first time since he’d met her.

“I am ready, D—Angela.”

She looked at him with her big, blue eyes and put the end of her pen in her mouth. Genji was too annoyed with her to forgive her because she was so goddamn cute.

“Why is it you always have some excuse?” He stared her down, not breaking eye contact. He hoped he was making her uncomfortable. “ _I am ready._ I have passed all your tests.”

It was at this point where she could no longer meet his gaze. There was some hesitation, and he immediately knew that she was hiding something from him—which only annoyed him even more, and gave him a pang of sadness. _So much for being friends…_

But he refused to let this go without a solid answer. “Well? What is it, Dr. Ziegler?”

She frowned at that. “I am worried about your mental well-being,” she said after a long pause. “You will do well against someone else, and Blackwatch will immediately launch you into their operations against the Shimada clan. I don’t…” she hesitated once again. “I don’t want something to go wrong while you’re out on the field.”

“But you are not an expert in mental health.”

“No, but I’m your friend.” She met his gaze again. “And I’m worried about you.”

He felt his annoyance dissipate slightly. “I appreciate it, Angela, but… I need to do this.”

“I only want what’s best for you.”

“Then let me go.”

She seemed lost in thought for a few minutes before heaving a great sigh. Angela looked down at the clipboard in her lap and scribbled down her signature on the paper.

 

xxx

 

Lena Oxton was something Genji had not expected; her skills were abnormal, and she was quick—but so was he. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Angela and Winston watching the two of them battle.

It was a great fight, and Genji wasn’t entirely sure that anyone else would have been able to keep up with him the way she did.

Unfortunately for Lena, his body did not submit as easily to fatigue. The fight was no longer fair, so he had no interest in waiting for her to call it off. Instead, he just sheathed his sword and said, “Nicely done, Oxton,” before leaving the room.

All his thoughts surrounded whether all of his fights were going to turn out the way that one did. He wasn’t human, and that meant he had an advantage. He vaguely wondered if he should have fought omnics instead, but scratched that idea too—he wasn’t one of _them_ , either.

Genji arrived to his quarters and slammed the door shut behind him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to _destroy_ something—he wanted to kill something. Instead, he settled for attacking his metal bed post, which made a horrific clanging sound as he sliced at it relentlessly. He heard a notification pop up on his comm, but ignored it in favor of unleashing his rage.

What _was_ he? A cyborg was what people referred to him as—he had an edge. He almost laughed when he thought about how cool he would have thought his body was a few years ago. But that’s what got him into this mess in the first place. Genji knew how naïve he’d been, how completely and utterly _stupid_ he was. This was nothing like the television shows he’d watched—this was his own personal hell, and it was a hell he’d be living for the rest of his life. A part of him wished Angela had ripped out his brain and replaced it with something that couldn’t feel—something that wouldn’t care if it was an abomination.

The human part of him could only take so much.

He was so tired.

 

xxx

 

She wouldn’t admit it, but Angela was disappointed when Genji did not come to see her off as he usually did. Was he still upset with her about how unprofessionally she’d acted in signing off on his tests?

But she had more important things to worry about—it was still possible that things could go wrong with Lena, and Angela had to watch out for Reinhardt and Torbjörn too. Her worries about Genji had to wait until the mission was over.

Angela could see how nervous Lena was, so she put an arm on her shoulder. “You’ll do fine, I’m positive! And if you need any help, just call for me and I’ll be right behind you.”

Lena smiled weakly at her. “Thanks, doc! I just hope we aren’t too late.”

The way she said that made Angela glance at Reinhardt, who didn’t seem to be paying attention—but all she could think of was the tragedy at Eichenwalde. And she only hoped that things didn’t go the same way this time.

 

xxx

 

“What do you mean she is gone?”

Winston pushed his glasses up his nose. “She went to King’s Row. I thought she would’ve told you she was leaving.”

And sure enough, when Genji checked his comm device—there it was.

_I’m leaving to help stop the uprising in King’s Row in about an hour. I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone. We’ll be in bay 3 if you want to come say goodbye! – AZ_

He’d thought it was impossible to hate himself more than he already did, but he had apparently been wrong.

The mission had been unsanctioned, so there was little coverage on the news—and those that did mention Overwatch’s involvement were focused more on how irresponsible they were, not on what was happening in King’s Row.

Genji was sitting alone in the cafeteria for the third day in a row before the announcement of the King’s Row strike team’s return was announced on the intercoms. He bolted out of his seat and abandoned his food to sprint to where he hoped Angela would be.

There was a crowd of happy people—apparently the team had stopped Null Sector, at least for the time being—but that was all anyone seemed to know. For the first time in months, he felt thankful for the fact that most members of Overwatch seemed to be afraid of him—a path was cleared almost immediately, which allowed him to walk right to the front of the crowd.

Lena Oxton exited the ship first, very obviously excited even though she looked exhausted. Much to Genji’s relief, Angela exited next—leaning heavily on her staff, but still standing. It took all of his self-control to not sprint over to her and pull her into a hug.

Her eyes seemed to find him in the crowd, and she gave him a small smile.

Genji made his way over to her, but didn’t really know what to say—how did you apologize for missing what may have been your last chance to see someone?

“Genji! I’m happy to see you.”

“As am I, Angela.”

She was obviously exhausted—she was covered in grime, and looked like she hadn’t really been able to take care of herself over the past few days.

“Do you want me to get you anything?”

She shook her head. “No—I just need to go write up a report before I can grab something from the cafeteria. I have a few appointments I was supposed to get to today—“

“Angela, if you try to do anything other than sleep, I will not hesitate to knock you unconscious.”

She snorted—something Genji had never seen her do before. It must have been a while since she slept. “I’m alright, I just—“

“I am worried… Because I am your friend.”

She met his gaze and paused for a moment. “Alright, Genji. You win this time.”

Genji was happy that despite everything, he still had the ability to sway people with his words.

“やれやれだぜ _(yare yare daze = good grief)_ … You are so difficult. And we both know I win every time.”

Angela laughed, and Genji was glad that her laughter was something he could hear again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I wasn't sure how to insert my weeaboo trash Japanese properly. I figure both of them would still use phrases in their native tongue (so Mercy will probably do the same eventually). Let me know if you have any thoughts on the formatting. I thought about writing the words in English but bolded to denote that they are being said in another language, but I always like reading foreign words when I read things, so... Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Also, Genji totally reads and watches Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
> 
> Chapter title: This Is Gospel - Panic! at the Disco


	4. angela

In the months after the fall of Overwatch, Angela watched her friend struggle more and more with what he’d become--with what  _ she _ had made him. Now he just followed her around from country to country--a bodyguard of sorts, though she wasn’t entirely sure that she needed one. Angela appreciated the constant company either way; her staff was constantly changing as she flew around from country to country, and it was nice to have someone she considered a friend with her.

But he was suffering.

He would snap at people and have fits of rage. There were other times he would stay silent for days and not speak to anyone--not even her. It hurt her to see him like that, as there was nothing she could do for him. Based on how he had talked about all of the Shimada missions, she would have thought that he would be at peace as soon as the clan was taken down, but that seemed to be a lifetime ago and he seemed worse than ever.

“I am leaving,” he said to her one day as she sat at an unfamiliar desk in an unfamiliar hospital. The only thing familiar was Genji, who was sitting stiffly in a chair and staring at a wall when she looked at him, her heart sinking in her chest.

“What?”

“I have to find my purpose.”

Angela immediately looked back down at the paper she’d been reading, but set it gently down on the desk as she tried to organize her thoughts. Overwatch used to be his purpose, but without that… She couldn’t force him to stay with her forever, no matter how much she enjoyed his company. “When will you leave?”

“Tomorrow.”   


She inhaled sharply. “That soon? Do you know where you’ll be going?”

“Away. Alone.”

The tears that welled up in her eyes were not ones she would ever allow to fall. Angela knew more than anyone that he needed this, and she was not about to let her own selfishness get in the way of what her friend needed. 

_ Not even if I need you? _

_ You’re all I have left _ .

_ Please don’t leave _ .

_ Let me help you _ .

“Okay,” she said after a long silence.

“Okay.”

xxx

The letter came in the mail. The return address was somewhere in Nepal, but there was no name listed. It had been a long time since she’d received a letter from someone, but she figured it was safe as it had made it through the security screening at the hospital. She did not recognize the handwriting, but she also had never expected to recognize it in the first place as most of her communication was through e-mail or video conferences.

_ Dear Mercy, _

She furrowed her brows, as very few people knew her code name from her days in Overwatch.

_ I hope this letter finds you well.  _

_ I want to apologize for the way I left.  _

Angela clutched the letter, feeling her heart skip a beat.

_ I was very lost. I think I may have hurt you, but it was not my intention. I am sorry for being so selfish.  _

_ I believe I have finally come to accept who I am and what I am. More upgrades have been made here and there--I almost look like an omnic now. I’m not sure you’d recognize me anymore. But I’ve come to accept this. I found a teacher--you may have heard of him. It’s the monk Zenyatta. I met some of his followers while wandering through the desert, and they led me here. I think this is where I belong.  _

_ I hope you are not overworking yourself too much. And if I know you at all, you are. So please take a day off and give yourself some time to rest. You deserve it, and if you don’t believe me, then I think you’ll agree that your patients deserve a well-rested doctor. _

_I am trying to keep us both safe, so I apologize for the code names. I trust you are wise enough to figure them out._  

_ All my best,  
_ _ Sparrow _

 

The tears welled up in her eyes as they always did when she thought about Genji Shimada--one of the only living people she could still call a friend. It had been a year since he left, and she had been starting to wonder if he was gone forever too. 

She immediately cancelled all of her appointments for the day (which made her secretary blink in confusion, as  _ nothing _ had ever been more important to Angela Ziegler as her patients), and began to write a reply.

 

**_Sparrow,_ **

**_I am so happy to hear from you! And you need not apologize to me for anything. I understand your actions completely, and the way you felt was partially my fault to begin with. It sounds like you are doing well._ **

**_Zenyatta is a great teacher from what I hear. I am not surprised that he was able to help you find yourself, as he and his brother are very inspirational._ **

**_I believe I am only working as hard as I need to, but I will do as you ask and take a “me” day. I only agree to do this if you agree to send me more letters whenever possible. I have been moving around a lot, so I hope you can keep up with me._**  

**_With love,  
_ ** **_Mercy_ **

 

_ M - _

_ I hear you are on the move quite a lot these days. I’ve written so many letters, but have been unable to send them as it’s very difficult to keep track of you. By the time I find you, you’ve disappeared. I am glad you are safe. If I can’t find you, the ones after you can’t either. _

_ S _

 

**_Sparrow,_ **

**_I am so sorry. I meant to reply sooner. I believe I am in a stable place for the time being, so please send your letters here. I had to make sure we were secure here before I could take a small risk in sending a letter, but I do think they are much safer these days than any other form of communication. It’s kind of ironic if you think about it. Letters aren’t hidden behind passwords and encryptions, they just exist as they are. And yet they are overlooked._ **

**_I miss our long, silent meals together more than ever. Everyone here is so chatty. I miss everyone dearly, but the only one I’ve talked to is W. Even those chats are very brief--he is keeping up the files in case of an emergency, though there isn’t much that could convince me to go back._ **

**_I hope you’re doing well._ **

**_Love,  
_ ** ******_Mercy_ **

 

_ Did you get the message from W about Christmas? I’m not sure what he was thinking would happen… I’m sure you wish you could go, but many of us cannot take that risk at this time. It is too dangerous... Which means LO is definitely going to be there.  _

_ Things are beginning to look bad again. I hear that group is on the move and trying to wipe the rest of us out for good, though I am not sure why. I hope you stay safe. I hope you have a merry Christmas. _

_ Here is a feather for your angel’s wings. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I just wanted to get something out there, and I was thinking about the Christmas comic where Genji wrote her a letter. Unfortunately I suck at writing letters, so this is what you get. They'll meet up again soon though ;)


	5. so catch me if i fall

Genji felt his stomach begin to do backflips as the escort vehicle Winston had ordered for him finally came to a halt after what had only felt like mere minutes and in reality had been a few hours. Despite everything Zenyatta had taught him about remaining calm, he worried about what everyone would think once they saw him now--and he wished more than anything that his master was with him, to tell give him some wisdom he so badly needed.

The cyborg exited the vehicle and walked up the steps to a building he’d thought he would never see again; Watchpoint: Gibraltar was live and well, standing exactly as it had been when Genji had left with Angela all those years ago after Overwatch disbanded. The thought of Angela made his stomach lurch again--they’d exchanged a few letters, but he missed his best friend being around when he needed her most. 

Arriving at the door to the building, Athena’s voice came through a speaker near the door. “Please present your Overwatch Personal Identification.” With a sigh, he removed his visor and leaned toward the door, allowing Athena to take a scan of his eye.

He’d barely had enough time to replace his visor when Athena’s voice said, “Welcome back, Genji” and the door opened just as smoothly as it had closed when he’d left all those years ago.

The room was full of talking at a mostly low volume when he entered, and almost immediately Angela stood up and said, “Genji!” with a bright smile on her face. 

Genji so badly wanted to embrace her, but everyone was watching him and he wasn’t entirely sure if it would be appropriate with the rest of their ex-coworkers around. The doctor looked expectant, however, so he wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug. “It is good to see you again, Angela.” 

When they pulled out of the hug, she looked him up and down. “I see you’ve upgraded a bit!”

He’d almost forgotten that the last time she’d seen him had been in the parts she and Torbjorn had made for him in a quick attempt to save his life. “I have not made any changes to your work; I decided to embrace the technological part of me and present as an omnic to scare people less.”

With a glance around the room, he noted the others that had arrived already.

He was happy to see McCree; the two of them were apparently the only members of Blackwatch Reyes hadn’t trusted enough to inform about the rebellion. Genji had never been close with anyone in Overwatch except for Angela, but he still noticed the absences were a heavy weight within the room; Commander Morrison and Captain Amari were usually the ones to head meetings, with Reyes standing off to the side. But instead, Winston called their attention.

“Thank you all for coming… I don’t expect many others to show up. But I think we need to do something about Talon--as I said in my message, they recently attacked me here in an attempt to get information on all old agents and their current whereabouts,” he paused. “I don’t know what they’re after, but--”

Athena’s voice cut Winston off. “Welcome back, Commander Morrison and Captain Amari.”

Everyone’s attention immediately went to the hallway where the door was. Genji and McCree stood at the same time, both placing their hands on their weapons.  _ Blackwatch training taught about reaction times _ , Genji thought briefly before stepping forward in an attempt to stand directly in front of Angela.

Through the hallway came someone Genji immediately recognized as Captain Amari--a much more old and haggard-looking Captain Amari with an eye patch, but Ana Amari nonetheless. Next to her was a man with white hair and a visor--Genji immediately recognized him as Soldier 76, the vigilante that had been running around. He hadn’t thought for a moment that 76 had been Jack Morrison, but the dots connected...

He heard a gasp from Angela before she stood, shoving past Genji to run over and hug the two of them. Soon, everyone was crowding the two newcomers except for Genji, who stood awkwardly off to the side--he had never been close with either of them.

“We thought you were dead!” Angela scolded, slapping Morrison’s arm. “Both of you!” She glared at Ana.

“We had to hide; we each thought the other dead as well. But we found each other, and have been in hiding ever since,” Ana explained.

“We have information,” Jack said--he was clearly no one for drawn out reunions. “Everyone sit back down.”

“Still used to barking orders,” Genji mumbled. McCree let out a belt of laughter, slapping Genji on the shoulder.

“I like you better when you talk, Genji!” He said.

Genji smiled a bit, but no one could see that from behind his mask. Everyone took their seats again, no one willing to disobey their commanding officer.

Jack stood at the front and removed the mask. It was immediately obvious that Jack hadn’t changed much over the years, aside from two large scars on his face.

“Talon is a problem,” Jack started.

Nothing the two of them explained really seemed to surprise Genji, and the fact that it didn’t surprise him was more surprising to him. What really caught his attention was when Jack said, “--and we’re going to need more recruits. We have to fly under the radar, but we need more people.”

Winston stood up. “That’s what I was going to suggest before you arrived--I have a list of known contacts that I think may be of some use to us and I’d like to discuss them with everyone here before we begin recruitment.” He paused for a moment. “First on the list are Lúcio Correia dos Santos and Hana Song.”

“Now wait a moment,” Angela protested. “Overwatch was shut down for a reason. Are we really thinking of operating under the radar?”

“We have no choice, Angela--Talon is up to no good, and there is no one else to stop them.”

“What makes it our job, then? We should leave this up to the United Nations before we all get arrested. We don’t need to start another war.”

Genji wanted so badly to agree with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. “I have seen the destruction, Angela. It is not pretty. I believe they are allowed to operate because they have contacts that allow it.” 

Angela stared at him, clearly hurt by his betrayal. “I’ll have no part in this.” And then she stormed out.

Genji watched, wishing he could chase after her--tell her he was sorry, that she was right, and that everyone should just go back to living life the way they were before the recall. But this discussion was too important.

Winston continued his list of notable names; many Genji recognized, but many he did not. The biggest debate happened when he called for Pharah Amari, but everyone had seemed to convince Ana that having Pharah with them fighting Talon directly was better than chancing her getting killed by Talon as she worked for Helix. The gorilla chanced a glance a Genji and hesitated before saying, “Another option would be Hanzo Shimada.”

It felt like the air had left the room. Everyone was staring at him, and he felt… He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt. Zenyatta’s words rang through his head as he tried to once again find peace within himself--something he always seemed to struggle with. After what seemed like at least a minute, Genji finally said, “I will find him.”

Lena went to protest, but Torbjorn gave her a look that said  _ shut up _ , and she immediately backed down. Genji appreciated the gesture, but he thought about what Zenyatta would tell him:  _ It is better to face your fears than to let them fester _ . If it would help save the world, then who was Genji to protest?

There was a sizeable strike team. They wished him to talk with Zenyatta as well, and Genji decided he would do so around the same time he… visited his brother. But for now, the list seemed to be exhausted of names and his mind immediately went back to finding Angela; he would have time to think on his own problems later.

He found her in her old office. It was not filled with her things like it used to be, so the room felt empty and bleak. Angela’s offices had always been immaculate, but her desk was always covered in books and patient read-outs, so it was strange to see her sitting at an empty desk with only her tablet in front of her. She barely glanced up as he entered the room.

There was no easy way to start this conversation, but after he sat down she slammed her tablet onto the desk and stared at him. “I can’t believe you would support this--this nonsense!” She paused, but as Genji went to speak she continued to talk. “After all that we’ve been through and all the loss we’ve seen…”

“I cannot say I am sorry,” he said finally. “People choose to make sacrifices. We must fight to protect the ones we care about from those that wish to harm them.” When that didn’t change the scowl on her face, he said, “I am visiting Hanzo to see if he will join us.”

The doctor’s face immediately softened. “Are you sure that’s… Will you be alright?”

“I will be fine. I do not hate him as I used to… It is complicated. But I believe my master would tell me to face him.”

There were a long few seconds of silence before Angela said, “I’ll play along for now.”

“Thank you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait!! I've been very busy lately, but I think things should calm down again pretty soon. I hope to make updates more regular! Special shoutout to SweetxNightmare for helping me get over my writer's block--go check out her Mass Effect fanfic!
> 
> Please leave a comment if you enjoy--it definitely encourages me to update!


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